REVIEW: Built to Spill @ Paradise Rock Club 10/04

Last Tuesday, Built to Spill played Paradise Rock Club, supported by Alex G and Hop Along. All bands played powerfully and excruciatingly loud. I left this show and immediately bought earplugs.

The night started off slow with few people showing up for the first act, Alex G. Those that did show up were younger than most to arrive later. Alex G’s set left little room for complaint, with song after song of what seemed like a conscious effort by the band. Alex opened with “Kute,” one of his more aggressive and powerful songs, and continued this attitude throughout the rest of the night. Every song seemed practiced, with quality sound and lots of the hits. It was almost like a festival setlist in this way. This seemed to work due to the small amount of people in the venue who were familiar with his music. For the first half of his set, frontman Alex G kept his traditionally nervous yet confrontational posture, with eyes closed and legs spread way out in an awkward jumping-jack stance. Alex’s supporting bandmates also played confidently and put out a good vibe.

Next was Philadelphia-based Hop Along. Lead singer Frances Quilan played guitar and sang while supported by her three bandmates. Frances’ voice and the set overall were very, very loud. Quilan’s screeching vocals were so loud they attempted to match lead guitarist Joe Reinhart. Reinhart towered over Quilan but was not to be outdone by her loud voice, so he danced all over the stage shredding his guitar. He reminded me in appearance and demeanor of gigantic “Veep” actor Timothy Simmons. Drummer Mark Quilan also smashed his drums the loudest he could. He also tried to make himself heard in other ways, like by cracking a lot of jokes. Hop Along joked around on stage a lot more than Alex G, and their songs were much longer. Both of these things made them seem like an older band than Alex G. But mostly they were just louder.

Last of the night was Built to Spill. Lead singer and guitarist Doug Martsch was supported by bassist Jason Albertini and drummer Steve Gere. This set was also really loud, but this time most of what you could hear was Martsch’s guitar and almost nothing else. This wasn’t necessarily bad though, because it was pretty amazing to see him in action. However, the set was long and his bandmates did not seem into it, with drummer Gere looking bored and texting during it. Martsch also played a lot of really long guitar solos, and not a lot of Built to Spill’s hits. When he did play these fan favorites, the massive, older crowd loved it and everyone sang along. These were some of the few times that I could hear vocals during the set, because the audience joined in. Martsch was a captivating performer. You couldn’t hear his soft singing voice, but he moved his head around on his neck very sporadically like he was almost having a seizure. But the rest of his body, including the parts that were playing guitar stayed perfectly still. This made Built to Spill’s set very interesting to look at, although sometimes a real strain on the ears.

– Allie Miller